[tor-dev] Urdu & Hindi translations of Tor browser ?

[Griffin Boyce]

Sukhbir Singh wrote:
> I am sure other users
> from India/Pakistan can back this up, but personally, even though my
> native language is Punjabi and Hindi, I have always selected "English"
> when installing Debian. Similary, I have almost never seen a copy of
> Windows in any of the local languages, anywhere in India.
> 
> The English precedence is slowly changing though, with more and more
> technology products being shipped in local languages so that they can
> reach populations that don't speak English (which is more in number 
> than
> the population that can.)

   These are great points, and the perspective is critical.  It's worth 
noting I only speak English and by necessity only interact with people 
who also speak English.  So frequently I have to wonder how that shapes 
my perspective and whether various users might have unmet needs.  
Whereas in your case, you've lived in some of these areas and speak 
Hindi so have a more realistic idea of what might be useful in India.

> So while my experience with this has been different from Griffin's in
> that no Tor user in India has asked me for a translation in their local
> language, I think the simple reason may be that English-speaking
> population doesn't feel the need and right now, they are the ones that
> dominate the online market. Not that this is an excuse for not having
> local translations, but I am stating the probable reasons for the lack
> of translations.

   Those who've approached me about Urdu have been trainers from 
Pakistan, and I'd imagine that as you say they are hoping to reach more 
users who don't speak English.  But I'm not actually sure how to really 
measure need based on these individual interactions.

best,
Griffin

-- 
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”
― Dr. Seuss